The owner of a Denver restaurant reported, "I first tried to sell buffalo tongue as an hors d'oeuvre at $1.75 and had no takers. So I priced it at $6.75, set a limit of two to a customer, and sold out every night."

I'm glad God doesn't operate that way. He does just the opposite--He offers something of great value for free. In Isaiah 55, He is portrayed as a vendor in a marketplace calling out to the passing throngs, "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?" (vv.1-2).

The crowds push past. They mill about the stalls, shopping for satisfaction. They spend their money for food that won't nourish them and for drink that won't quench their thirst. But money can't buy what they really need.

God offers real nourishment, lasting joy, and forgiveness from sin--and it's all free! The shoppers don't take Him seriously, yet He doesn't alter His marketing strategy.

Are you spending all you have on what will never satisfy? The salvation Jesus purchased at great cost is free to anyone who will accept it. Have you?  — Haddon W. Robinson